1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a utility vehicle in which a cargo bed can be expanded forward so as to utilize an area or a capacity of a cargo bed space and a riding space to a maximum extent according to the need of a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present applicant filed applications for inventions relating to a utility vehicle having a cargo bed in which an area or a capacity can be expanded, and those applications have already been registered. Examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,905,159, 6,994,388, and 7,249,798.
In utility vehicles shown in the above documents, a front seat and a rear seat are arranged in a riding space covered by a ROPS, and a cargo bed is arranged behind the rear seat. By changing the rear seat from a use state to a stowed state, a front part of the cargo bed can be expanded into the riding space which is occupied by the rear seat in the use state.
FIG. 12 is a left side view of a utility vehicle in which a rear seat is in a use state, the utility vehicle being shown in the conventional art documents. A bench shape front seat 81 has a seat leg 811 upright provided on a floor surface 821 of a cabin 82, a seat plate 812 provided on an upper end surface of the seat leg 811, and a backrest 813 fixed to the seat plate 812 via a support stay and the like. The bench shape front seat 81 generally extends in the left and right direction up to the vicinities of both left and right ends of the cabin 82. Thereby, a plurality of people can be seated side by side. A driver can be seated in a seating area on one end (such as a left end), and passengers can be seated in other seating areas. A bench shape rear seat 83 has a seat plate 831 arranged on the upper side of a box 84 accommodating an engine (not shown), and a backrest 832. The seat plate 831 and the backrest 832 extend in the left and right direction up to the vicinities of both the left and right ends of the cabin 82 as well as the front seat 81. Thereby, a plurality of passengers can be seated side by side.
A folding structure of the rear seat 83 will be described. The seat plate 831 is fixed to an upper surface of a support base 833. A front end of the support base 833 is pivotably supported on a front upper end of the box 84 via a hinge 834. A pair of left and right stays 835 extending downward is secured to the backrest 832, and lower ends of the stays 835 are pivotably coupled to a rear end of the seat plate 831 via a hinge 836.
FIG. 13 is a left side view of the utility vehicle in which the rear seat is in a stowed state, the utility vehicle being shown in the conventional art documents. The backrest 832 is pivoted forward on the hinge 836 so as to be brought into contact with an upper surface of the seat plate 831. Next, by pivoting the seat plate 831 forward on the hinge 834 into a substantially vertical state together with the backrest 832, the rear seat 83 is folded into a stowed state on the rear side of the front seat 81. In such a way, by folding and stowing the rear seat 83, a rear riding space P1 can be utilized as a front expansion space of a cargo bed 85.
The cargo bed 85 is provided with a fixed bottom plate 851, a pair of fixed side walls 852 provided at a substantially right angle to the fixed bottom plate 851 along both left and right edges of the fixed bottom plate 851, an openable and closable gate type rear wall 853 provided in a rear end of the fixed bottom plate 851, and a front wall 854 whose position is adjustable in the front and rear direction as a basic structure. In addition to these members, as shown in FIG. 13, a pair of left and right expansion side walls 855 is provided in order to expand the cargo bed 85 forward.
Therefore, in the above conventional utility vehicle, in order to change the rear seat 83 from a use state to a stowed state and expand the cargo bed 85, the expansion side walls 855 of the cargo bed 85 are separately required.